Pan-fried Chorizo and Cabbage

Chorizo is one of those very rare ingredients that gets along with anything in its vicinity – food or otherwise (except perhaps pigs). Not only does chorizo accompany kale to pleasing effect, it is suited rather handsomely to cabbage. This naturally leads one to suspect that our spicy Spanish friend could be bosom buddies with the entire brassica clan – all should be revealed in time. Meanwhile, why not make the time to appreciate the deep hues and rich flavours which accompany these wonderful ingredients?

As you may have noticed, cabbage and I are getting along famously. No longer is ‘blasted’ permanently prefixed to the names of each member of the brassica family – prepare them correctly and each and every green cousin is simply divine. Indeed, it is my firmly held belief that to pan-fry a leaf of cabbage or a floret of broccoli is to transform it into something heavenly. Steaming is also acceptable, but boiling seems to steal any vibrancy from greens – though this doesn’t apply so much to red cabbage.

It may seem strange, but when coasted with the richness of chorizo the subtlety of cabbage is truly allowed to sing and does a spectacular job of underpinning the strength of the sausage. Additionally, the interesting and pleasant texture of savoy cabbage adds a little intrigue to the dish, allowing it to play with numerous senses. If you’re keen on making full use of the textural qualities of savoy cabbage try to use the heavily patterned and richly colourful outer leaves – they will serve to enhance one’s enjoyment.

If you happen to live in Bristol, Source in St Nicholas Market is a great place from which to buy quality, well-sourced chorizo. You can pick up one sausage for around 90p.

Pan-fried Chorizo and Cabbage

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 4-5 large leaves of savoy cabbage, shredded

• 1 tbsp fresh sage, finely chopped

• 50g chorizo sausage, cubed

• 1 clove of garlic

• Olive oil

• Salt

• Pepper

Method:

1. Gently fry the chorizo and garlic in a healthy dose of olive oil, enough to coat the cabbage. Cook until the chorizo begins to release its fat and colours the oil.

2. Turn the temperature up and then add the cabbage. Cook for a few minutes giving the cabbage time to warm through and begin to cook. Make sure it’s covered in the delicious paprika flavoured oil, scatter with the sage and serve immediately with bread.

Cost: Cabbage is extremely cheap, particularly at this time of the year when it is in season. The entire brassica set me back 95p and I probably only used around a quarter of it here. All in, this dish set us back around £1 – a great price for a delicious lunch.

Looks great. I still have lots of chorizo too from my sausage making sessions last Autumn – thanks for inspiring me to cook something that isn’t going to cost me anything! Think my cabbages may be a tad frozen though.

I have to say that it looks somewhat like you dotted your chorizo in regular intervals Mr Frugal…methinks that it looked somewhat more photogenic that way? ;). Cabbage and bacon is the mainstay of most of Europe as both ingredients can be stored for a long time. I love Savoy cabbage. Our usual cabbage over here has flat leaves but we do get to occasionally choose from a savoy or a Chinese cabbage. Back to the chorizo…did you use a ruler? 😉